Music education is a prominent pillar in United States public schools
and has been since the mid 1800's. Today, most elementary schools have a
music specialist and an established music curriculum. The Colorado front
range is no exception.

This project is designed to determine the state of public school music
education in the Denver metropolitan area. To collect the data for this
project a survey instrument was created. This new data is compared to the
statistical analysis report of October 1995, "Arts Education in Public
Elementary and Secondary Schools," edited by Carey, Farris, Sikes,
Fay, and Carpenter. Additional information in this project covers the history
of music education in this country, and the definition of elementary music
education.

History of American Music Education

Music began playing a significant role in the United States public educational
system in the early 1800's. Until that time most music education was reserved
for private instruction or conservatory work. The music of common people
was often noted to be irregular in both pitch and rhythm. One of the first
moves to codify American music came through the churches of New England
in the early 1700s. The Reverend Nathaniel Chauncey was a strong supporter
of standardized, or "Regular

Singing." In one of his pamphlets Chauncey wrote "Since Man
is incapable of discerning how to worship God in a becoming manner, it is
truly a great favor that God gives to Man the needful directions" (Rollett,
Singing Schools, 1998). As a result, "singing schools" began to
develop around the Boston area.

Lowell Mason was a contributor to these schools, and to regular church
music, through his hymnal literature and Sunday school collections. In 1833
Mason helped create the Boston Academy of Music to further promote skilled,
common music. In 1837 he was asked to teach music, on a trial basis, in
the four Boston public schools. His teaching was such a success that Mason
was appointed superintendent of music. Over the following years he initiated
state wide training in music education. One of Mason's assistants, George
F. Root (1820-1895), organized the first national center for music teacher
training, the Normal Musical Institute in New York (Rollett, Education,
1998).

Elementary Music Education

Elementary school music classes still rely on singing. Today, the focus
is not just on symbolic representation for the voice, but for all music
concepts and contexts. The Manhattanville Music Curriculum Project (MMCP)
powerfully illustrates this. According to the MMCP of 1965, music concepts
(timbre, rhythm, melody, dynamics form and harmony) should be taught using
a spiral cycle. Each stage, and its respective lessons, progressively build
on the previous notions (e.g. If the first rhythm lesson, from the first
stage, is about quarter notes, then the first rhythm lesson from the second
stage would be about eighth notes). All the while, students are given opportunities
to apply the new, and old concepts through compositions. The end result
is a student who can understand and apply all basic musical concepts; not
just a student who is trained in vocal music performance (O'Brian, 1983).

For this reason, elementary music education now falls into three categories:
general, vocal and instrumental. General music explores stylistic appreciation,
theoretical knowledge and rudimentary skills. Vocal music has a role in
the general music class, but it is a separate discipline which focuses on
advanced techniques and sophisticated literature. Instrumental music gives
in depth exploration to the performance of band and orchestral instruments.

There are several general music pedagogues and they all have elements
of vocal and instrumental study. The difference is in the intention. General
music is designed to provide students with a broad understanding and appreciation
of music; vocal and instrumental music provide sophisticated application
with the goal being performance.

Orff is one of the most common forms of general music teaching. The program
was designed by Carl Orff, a German composer who lived from 1895-1982. The
Orff system is primarily based on simple movements, rhymes and sounds. These
three basic notions help children develop creativity for improvisation and
composition. The concepts gradually progress: movements into rhythms, rhymes
into melodies, and body sounds into instruments. Rhythms can get as complicated
as triplets and dotted eighth-sixteenths, but are usually set in a repeated
pattern. Melodies are always diatonic, never chromatic or modulating. Orff
designed and modified a battery of percussion instruments. The tuned instruments
are glockenspiel, metalophone and xylophone. They are made in the ranges
of soprano, alto, and bass. Untuned percussion includes a variety of toys
like wood blocks, triangles and bells, as well as modified timpani, hand
drums and suspended cymbals (O'Brian, 1983).

Another common technique was designed by the Hungarian, Zoltan Kodály
(1882-1967). Kodály was inspired heavily by folk music from Eastern
Europe and therefore used singing as his primary vehicle for education.
Kodály championed the sol-fage vocal technique. Sol-fage relies on
the diatonic, or eight note scale. Each note has a corresponding syllable
and hand sign. The scale numbers and syllables are 1-Do, 2-Re, 3-Mi, 4-Fa,
5-Sol, 6-La, 7-Ti, and the octave, 8-Do. The height of the hand signals
rise with the scale. This gives a powerful kinesthetic relationship. Solmization
and hand signals have been used throughout Europe for hundreds of years.
Beethoven wrote an easy round with these syllables in 1805 called "The
Scale" (Reichenbach, 1993). Unlike Orff, Kodály believed that
students must develop music reading before they can indulge in creative
application. He believed composition and improvisation could be introduced
only after the student had a strong ability to understand and use basic
musical symbols (O'Brian, 1983).

Rounds, such as Beethoven's, are a rudimentary way to teach melody, rhythm,
and harmony. Another basic musical concept is the ostinado, or repeated
rhythmical pattern. Through these, and other applications, children can
find fun, easy success with music. From these early experiences students
will hopefully be inspired to pursue deliberate musical study.

In the case of vocal music study, students can take private voice instruction
and enlist in a choir. Private study helps develop proper vocal techniques
like breathing, diction and language. While these are superficially considered
in the general music class, it is only through deliberate, disciplined study,
alone or with a teacher, that a person can become highly skilled. Choirs
provide the opportunity to perform challenging literature. These pieces
contain difficult concepts such as two to twelve part harmonies, extreme
dynamic expressions, chromatic movement, harmonic modulation, and complex
polyrhythms.

Instrumental music definitely relies upon the basic skills taught in
the general music class, like pitch and rhythm reading. Recorder skills
from the general classroom translate directly to the orchestral woodwind
instruments like flute, clarinet, and saxophone. Drums, toys, and xylophones
are the mainstay of the orchestral percussionist. Again, the difference
is the intention of the practice. General music provides an introduction
while band offers a focused path of application. The literature of the instrumentalist
takes hours, days, and even weeks to master. The general music student can
understand and apply new concepts in a single lesson. An eighty piece orchestra
deals in the subtleties of dynamics and tempo. General musicians are practicing
the social skills of cooperation and sharing which ultimately lead to orchestral
communication.

These distinctions may seem fastidious, or even obvious, but it is important
to be explicit in this terminology so that we can gain an accurate understanding
of the contemporary, elementary, music education system.

Survey of Denver Metropolitan Music Education

To understand the state of music education in the Denver, Colorado area
this survey was designed to draw upon the findings of Carey et al. (1995)
and the distinctions of elementary music. Some of the questions were created
to give the interviewee an opportunity to freely explore their thoughts
on music education, and offer other relevant information regarding elementary
schools in their district.

School districts, not individual schools, were targeted for evaluation.
This was reasoned, in part, to the limited time and resources available.
Therefore, any conclusions reached by this survey may not be true for all
schools in the Denver area, or even for specific schools within each of
the designated districts. On the other hand, the passion and resolve to
support and enhance elementary music education is obvious in the select
district personnel, and their degree of knowledge about policies and curriculum.

Districts were chosen based on their proximity to Denver and their general
characteristics. In Carey et al. (1995), four characteristics were possible:
urban, urban fringe, town, and rural. Various districts were sampled in
this project to achieve this same mix. Seven districts were originally contacted.
They were, in alphabetical order, Adams County District 50, Boulder Valley
RE 2, Denver District 1, Douglas County RE 1, Jefferson County R-1, Littleton
District 6, and St. Vrain Valley School District. A minimum of two telephone
attempts for an interview were made. Only four district representatives
responded to the request for survey and their answers are noted bellow.
The contact person for each district was chosen from this order of priorities:
(a) district music coordinator, (b) district arts coordinator, (c) district
elementary curriculum coordinator, (d) elementary music specialist. Once
the appropriate person was contacted this brief introduction to the survey
was offered:

"This is a survey on the state of elementary music education in
the Denver metro area for a Regis University masters class. The questions
will define your school district, its elementary music program, and the
recent history of the program. In this interview, I will also ask for your
general attitudes and impressions about music education, its degree of importance
within the district, and visions for its future application."

These are the questions asked:

1) How would you classify your school district: city, urban fringe, town,
rural?

2) What is the average size of an elementary school in the district:
(small) 300 or less, (medium) 300-599, (large) 600 or more?

3) How many elementary schools are there in your district?

4) How often do students meet with a music specialist each week in these
separate classes:

General Music?

Vocal Music?

Instrumental Music?

5a) On a scale of 1-10, ten being the highest, rank the importance of
music in your district?

5b) What are some of the ways that commitment to music education is demonstrated
in your district?

(If not offered) 5c) Does your district have a curriculum guide for music
education?

6a) Do you, or your district, think there can be connections drawn between
music and other subjects?

6b) In your district, is workshop training or written guidelines offered
for interdisciplinary work between music and other subjects?

7) Compare the district's elementary music program today to five years
ago. Ten years ago.

8) What would you change in the application of music education in your
district?

The following sub categories include the representative contact person,
the date of interview, their response to each question, and general elaborations.

Douglas County

The contact person for Douglas County RE 1 was Cheryl Juniel, elementary
curriculum coordinator. The interview was conducted on December 1, 1998.
She described her district as urban fringe, with 30 elementary and 6 charter
schools of medium size.

Douglas County elementary students attend an average of two, 30 minute
general music classes per week. There are an additional 60-90 minutes of
vocal and 90-120 minutes of instrumental music each week. The district is
ranked at 9.5 with that level of commitment being demonstrated by full time
specialists, artists in residence, a music curriculum counsel, and a paid
music curriculum chair person. Their current curriculum is undergoing review
and adaptation. The district attempts to develop interdisciplinary connections
through story telling, public speaking, computer technology and curricular
strands.

The Douglas county elementary music program has remained essentially
unchanged during the past five, and ten years, except for maintaining a
constant state of evaluation and then modification. Some changes that Juniel
would like to see are: a greater use of instrumental music, an expanded
kindergarten and pre-K program, and even more music exposure for all children.

Jefferson County R-1

The contact person for Jefferson County was Dotty Reeves, music project
coordinator. The interview was conducted on November 25, 1998. She classified
the 90 elementary schools, and 10 charter schools, as medium size, urban
fringe.

Jefferson county students attend general music classes once every three
days. Vocal music was categorized as part of the general music program.
Instrumental music is offered in 5th and 6th grade as a "pull out."
The importance of elementary music education is ranked at 8 with commitment
demonstrated through district approved standards and a full time music project
coordinator. The curriculum is drawn from the above mentioned standards.
The application of interdisciplinary concepts is manifested through content
based, and literacy based academic content. An example was given for a first
Americans unit. It was said to be initiated by classroom teachers and then
supported by the other content areas.

The last five years have mirrored the progress of the last twenty years.
The work load for teachers has "improved" and elementary music
has become a more powerful "political" issue. Reeves would like
to see string specialists throughout the district and more revision of standards
to meet those of the state.

Littleton District 6

Two contacts were made in this district. Jill Brogden is the district
curriculum coordinator, and Sandy Jasper is the elementary schools coordinator.
The interviews were conducted on November 25, 1998. Jasper responded to
questions 1-5, and Brogden responded to questions 6-8. Littleton District
6 is classified as urban fringe with 15, medium size, K-5 elementary schools.

Students meet twice a week, for thirty minutes each, with either a full
time or part time music specialist. Most music specialists are part time.
The music classes are defined as general and vocal, but no distinction was
made for separate vocal choirs. The importance of music is ranked at 6 and
the demonstration of commitment is through performance productions. There
is a district curriculum, but it is in the process of being rewritten.

There is a belief that connections can be drawn between subjects. This
is manifested through a "TOSA," or Teacher On Special Assignment.
These are master teachers, from within the district, who lend their field
of expertise to another school for the purpose of in depth "coaching."
There are approximately two TOSAs for every four schools. The TOSA initiates
projects, and then works with music teachers to incorporate the academic
concepts. This is said to promote "content literacy."

Around five years ago the district lost some of its funding and the teaching
staff was cut. Over the next five years the citizens of the district approved
new bond issues and thereby added back staff. The average class size has
recently been cut to 23-25 students. More programs have also been added.
Brogden's vision of the future sees the incorporation of beginning instrumental
music in the elementary schools.

St. Vrain Valley Schools

Erie elementary school was contacted in an effort to find town and rural
schools. As a result, Rodger Bergford, the Erie elementary music teacher,
was surveyed. He has been with the St. Vrain district for twenty eight years.
The interview was conducted on December 6, 1998. Bregford described the
district as a mixture of classifications in transition. Longmont is a town
growing towards a city. Burlington and Niwot are towns growing towards urban
fringe. Erie and Lions are rural growing towards towns. All 19 elementary
schools are medium sized and overcrowded.

Students receive two, forty-five minute, general music courses per week
from part time, and full time specialists. Vocal music takes place after
school. Instrumental music begins in middle school. The importance of music
is ranked at 8 for the community, and 3 for the superintendent. The commitment
to music education is supported by a seven year rotation of text books,
good quality sound equipment, and complete sets of video equipment. On the
other hand, it is said to be a struggle to receive technology equipment
and training support. The curriculum is currently being rewritten to match
state and national standards.

The history of the St. Vrain district has been consistent for the last
ten years; a dwindling availability of resources for the "special"
areas of art, PE, and music. Bregford's vision for change is in the form
of more technical support and longevous in-service training.

Comparison

The process of statistical analysis requires that the researcher must
extrapolate findings from small sample to a larger population. For that
reason, it is impossible to be completely accurate in one's findings. The
survey done for this projects illustrates this point. While many of the
findings correlate to the work by Carey et al. (1995), there are some un
clear areas.

To create percentile comparisons, the data from this survey is divided
by the 170 schools, in the 4 districts. Because each school was not surveyed
individually some generalizations had to be drawn. In the St. Vrain district
there was a broad range of classifications; from rural to city. The general
average of the areas gravitated towards town and so that description was
used. Also, in the St Vrain district, vocal music was offered outside of
school, and by only one known elementary. Therefore, the district as a whole
is assumed not to have a directive for elementary vocal music. In the Littleton
district vocal music was said to be offered during the general music class,
but not in a separate choir setting. By the definition of general and vocal
music, this too assumes they do not have a stipulation for elementary vocal
music.

Again, these assumptions are broad, and admittedly inaccurate for all
surveyed schools with in the districts. The purpose of these statistics
is to make relative comparisons to existing research and find greater clarity
to the definition of elementary general music.

These are the comparisons to "Arts Education in Public Elementary
and Secondary Schools." Carey et al. (1995) found that 73% of schools
surveyed were classified as medium, urban fringe, compared to the survey
from this project that ranked 89% of the schools urban fringe, and 100%
medium sized. Carey et al. (1995) said 97% of public elementary schools
have music instruction. This matches with the 100% of surveyed schools in
the Denver metro area. The 1995 study stated that 53% of schools use full
time music specialists, 20% use a mix of part time music specialists and
classroom teachers, and 8% use only classroom teachers. The Denver survey
found 80% full time music specialists, and 20% part time. This is a 23%
disparity between the two reports. Carey et al. (1995) declared that 56%
of elementary schools had music programs with a mixture of general, instrumental,
and vocal, 15% with general and vocal, 10% with general only, and 8% with
general and instrumental. The Denver study found that 59% of the elementary
school music programs had general and instrumental, 21% with general, vocal
and instrumental, and 20% with general only. These numbers are almost in
exact opposition to each other.

Conclusion

The findings of this project have helped to clarify several points. First,
that music education is wide spread in public schools today. Also, there
is strong, but not overwhelming, dedication to the sustenance and continuance
of music in the schools. Finally, that elementary music education, while
well known, is misunderstood.

Carey et al. (1995), and this current survey, clearly show that most
public elementary schools have a music program. 100% of the Denver metro
schools, and 97% of the United States public schools, have an elementary
music program. There are public school districts across the country that
do not have elementary music education, like Albuquerque, New Mexico. Unfortunately,
it would take an exhaustive survey to approach every district, and calculate
precise statistics.

Dedication to music education is strongly demonstrated by the amount
of resources directed from citizens and administrators. Some of these resources
may take the form of material and space. The most costly resource is personnel.
Nationally, 53% of schools have full time music specialists teaching courses.
Locally, 80% of music teachers are full time specialists. These numbers
show a strong belief in the professional necessity of music specialists.
One concern does arise. In the schools where classroom teachers are responsible
for music education, do those teachers have training in music education?
Is their class engaged in musical concepts, like dynamics and form, do they
simply sing camp songs, or is a radio turned on to the local classical music
station? Since 75% of the Carey et al. (1995) surveys were completed by
either administrators or office staff, not arts personnel, it is impossible
to know what constitutes a music class in their minds.

This confusion that arises from vaguely defined parameters is most evident
in the classification of general, vocal, and instrumental music. In several
areas, this survey, and that of Carey et al. (1995), have closely related
statistics. The one major area of difference comes in this distinction between
general, vocal, and instrumental music. The national survey found that 56%
of elementary schools have music programs with a mixture of general, instrumental,
and vocal music content. The Denver survey found that 59% of elementary
programs are made up of only general and instrumental music. One possible
explanation is the specific request, made through this project, for time
spent in the separate "classes," as illustrated in question number
four. This question painted the expectation that unless there was a specific
choir class, singing fell under the umbrella of general music. This was
very apparent in the Littleton district where vocal and general music were
cited, but no vocal classes were distinguished. It was only through the
conversational format of this survey that clarification became possible.
An impersonal survey has no interactive ability to follow-up on responses.

Overall, both surveys show positive support for, and an extensive application
of, music in public elementary schools. This could be, in part, due to recent
scientific explorations regarding brain functions, and test scores, in relation
to music. However, prior to contemporary neurology, music was one of the
most powerful points of social contact. Historical memory may be a facetious
belief, but, in some way, we may all still long for a soulful, communal
reason for life; that reason is often expressed through music.